The two presidential candidates: Prabowo Subianto accompanied by his running mate Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo accompanied by his running mate Jusuf Kalla, hold up their respective election numbers, allocated on June 1, 2014. (EPA Photo/Adi Weda)
Hashim Djojohadikusumo, the younger brother of Prabowo Subianto, the candidate from the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, said at the event in Jakarta organized by the Indonesian Association of Churches, or PGI, that he felt “cheated” by Joko Widodo, the candidate from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P.
“Jokowi lied to me,” Hashim said, referring to Joko by his popular nickname.
He claimed the candidate, then the mayor of the Central Java town of Solo, had come to him in 2012 seeking Rp 52 billion, or $4.42 million, to run in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
“Back then he would show up at my office twice a week. He told me that I was the only one who was willing to fund him. He said he couldn’t get money elsewhere,” Hashim said.
Joko’s successful run for City Hall that year was funded by several groups and donors, including the two parties that nominated him: the PDI-P and Gerindra.
Hashim also credited Gerindra with Joko’s success, saying that PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri was set on backing the incumbent, Fauzi Bowo, until Prabowo suggested bringing in Joko.
“The person who brought Jokowi to Jakarta was Prabowo. It was him who convinced Mega to accept Jokowi,” he said.
Hashim also claimed that Joko had reassured him that he would not run in the presidential election this year, after opinion polls repeatedly showed him to be the front-runner and the only potential candidate standing between Prabowo and the presidency.
“I met Jokowi two weeks before he declared his presidential bid, and he denied that he was going to run. As it turned out, he lied,” Hashim said.
The PDI-P declared Joko its presidential candidate on March 14.
Luhut Panjaitan, a member of Joko’s campaign team, denied Hashim’s suggestions that Joko had stabbed Prabowo in the back, saying that if anything, Prabowo and his brother had themselves to blame for their rival’s soaring popularity.
“Jokowi never left Solo,” he said, in a swipe at the common refrain that the candidate had abandoned his mandate in the Central Java town, just as he was about to leave Jakarta City Hall before seeing out his term in the capital.
“Hashim is also responsible for Jokowi coming to Jakarta, but I don’t feel anyone is to blame, because we all want a leader who rises up from the bottom. The problem for Prabowo now is that Jokowi has become his competitor,” Luhut said.
“If Jokowi wasn’t in the picture, then it’s almost certain that Prabowo would be president. But with Jokowi in the field, it’s Jokowi who will be president.”
Luhut, a longtime Golkar Party stalwart who split with the party after it endorsed Prabowo, said he didn’t want to get into a personal attack on Prabowo, “because the stories won’t be pretty.”
He also countered speculation that Joko was a “secret Christian” — a common tactic in Indonesian politics where a candidate’s Islamic piety is called into question in a bid to seed doubt in the mind of the majority Muslim voter base.
“Jokowi’s descendants were all Muslims. There’s certain groups claiming that he’s not a Muslim, but this isn’t true. It’s really regrettable that people would lie like that. Fortunately, though, Jokowi’s a good sport,” Luhut said.
He added that the governor, whose deputies in both Solo and Jakarta were Christians, was a “consistent” champion of religious pluralism — in an apparent swipe at Prabowo’s recent courting of Islamic hard-liners notorious for their attacks on religious minorities.
“Jokowi’s words and deeds have always been in line with pluralism. He’s a down-to-earth person. So are his kids. Indonesia will definitely be better off” with Joko as president, he said.
Luhut also took a jab at the party of Hatta Rajasa, Prabowo’s running mate, by raising the issue of a church in Bogor that remains shuttered in direct violation of two Supreme Court rulings ordering it reopened to its congregation.
Bogor Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto promised to make the case one of his priorities after coming to office in April, but has not yet broached the issue. Bima is a member of the National Mandate Party, or PAN, which Hatta chairs.
“We will certainly resolve the case of the GKI Yasmin church, why not?” Luhut said. “We’re committed to finding the best way forward so that the conflict doesn’t drag on.”
Luhut, who served in the military alongside Prabowo, also insinuated that the former Special Forces commander could incite unrest if he lost the election, in a stab at allegations that Prabowo instigated the riots that followed Suharto’s resignation in May 1998. Prabowo was later that year discharged from the military by a disciplinary tribunal.
“Let’s not have anyone getting mad and kicking up a fuss if they lose,” he said.
“From Jokowi’s side, I can guarantee that that won’t happen. But as for the other side, well, let’s just hope that no one gets emotional.”
By Carlos Paath
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